Got 5 years before I hurt it.

[HEMI-ITIS]

545 ci Hemi,blown with a 1071 BDS.Drive over 1500 miles a year and 3 or 4 trips the the track.Last pass it nosed over and I asw 14:1 on the AFR readout and it started puffin out the breathers like a BBQ.First thing noticed was the cam was 5 or 6* advanced.The CR should have been 8.5:1 and turned out to be 7.4:1.I had Manley rods when it went to a rebuilder and when we opened it up found Eagle rods.......whatever,can't go back after 5 years and bla,bla,bla.

So it was time to yank the engine and see whats going on.

 

[dieseldazzle]

What did you hurt?

 

[HEMI-ITIS]

4 pistons,,,,,

 

[Ski 61701]

Ouch....sorry

 

[Bobo]

Just can't win .. some times .. this stuff happens to me more often than I like admit time to build bigger and better. !

 

[Mike67]

Hate to hear that...are you going to use the same builder???

 

[Pops1967GTX]

What did you hurt?

Another than the engine , going to need to go deep into his pockets..

 

[lewtot184]

see if you can tell if the top ring end gaps were butting.

 

[HEMI-ITIS]

see if you can tell if the top ring end gaps were butting.

This build was 5 years old with well over 10k miles on it.The builder made a few mistakes,but you can't go back 5 years later with demands.I will be rebuilding the engine and installing a set of heads that have been in my garage for 25 years.It is true what they say,if you want it done right,,,,,do it yourself.I have the help of a good friend that has a repair shop.I took the fenders and the front grille and all that off in my garage before bringing it over to Joe and removing the engine.
When I felt it nose over I got right outta the throttle.That saved the bore and luckily I was able to use the same size piston. All the top rings overheated and failed.If there were steel rings instead of moly rings this might not have happened.

 

[HEMI-ITIS]

When I 1st installed the HEMI and the Milodon S/S oil pan over 15 years ago,the centerlink hit the tube in the oil pan,so I put a 1 inch spacer under the engine plate raising the front of the engine for centerlink clearance.The fueler heads have a .750 raised exhaust port.SO,,,,we lowered the front of the engine 4 inches,that moved the right side valve cover almost 2.5 inches away from the firewall I massaged with a BFH so it could be removed.Then we set the engine back leaving ,,,,,,just enough to get that valve cover off!

 

[Jeremiah]

I thought the consensus was that you killed it slowly over the years with pump gas and too much timing?

Looks good, glad to see it coming back together!

 

[HEMI-ITIS]

I thought the consensus was that you killed it slowly over the years with pump gas and too much timing?

Looks good, glad to see it coming back together!

I pushed the envelope on timing and octane.I checked plugs after every run,no salt & pepper.It was the last 2 passes that it slowed to 9.6 then 9.8.That's when the top rings totally failed and hurt the 4 pistons on the passenger side.The passenger side on 8 cylinder engines run hotter than the left.
If there were steel rings instead of Moly,I might not be in this boat

 

[lewtot184]

my thoughts on end gap were that as long as the a/f ratio was good then the heat would be controlled on the piston/ring combo. if the a/f ratio went way lean on the blower motor then heat could've made the top ring grow enough to bind up and separate a portion of the piston; similar to what a hypereutectic piston would do without enough end gap.

 

[HEMI-ITIS]

Could be,it did go lean and when I felt it nose over I got off it.

 

[furryfrog]

Too Bad! At least your bores are ok. Have you considered adding water injection on the next go around? I am sure it would have saved your pistons, if the problem was caused by running lean or not.

 

[HEMI-ITIS]

I have looked into water meth.I would like to see how hard I can spin the blower before the heat flattens out the power.Leaning towards Rodney.

 

[dieseldazzle]

So you think the moly coating caused issues when you rattled the motor?

I think you had a great run for a blower motor that actually gets driven and raced if you ask me

 

[Rick Carson]

Wow, you're getting off light, glad to hear it! Those shiney new heads ought to make you smile though.

 

[HEMI-ITIS]

I'm very happy with what it has done.Now I need to order a fab oil pan!Block sitting real nice!! Front of block lowered 4 inches and is still like 3* up.Block moved back 2 inches.Now I need to pull the steering column and trim the bottom of the tube.I'd like to do a removable steering wheel like DVW and change the steering shaft to CM tube Will have more pics tonight,,,,,,,,,,,

 

[HEMI-ITIS]

Here are some pics today.This is where the engine ended up.Need to modify 2 tubes and the list goes on.Will pull the steering column and trim the bottom and repalce the stock steering shartshaft with CM tube.Moving the engine back should help also!

This whee it says!